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2018
Happy Holidays 2018! I'll be taking a break from the political stuff this year. It's no longer funny, it's sad. So absent snarky jokes about the president, we are left with an almost entirely wholesome letter of news from a fairly normal 2018! To start off with the kids, Jack turned 13 this October, so he's no longer a tween but a full-blown teenager! He's taller than Jean, something he points out every time he's within a few feet of her. He's continued his soccer career, continuing to play for the FCV 05 travel team all year, where he's transitioned from a center midfielder to center back most of the time. In the winter break he's been playing Futsal, which is like an indoor soccer-like game played on a basketball court with a smaller, heavier, not so bouncy ball and different tactics. It's fast paced and has been fun to watch. We've had several folks out to see games with us, and have a few more tournaments this season before Spring. Other than that, Jack has enjoyed hanging out with his friends, watching way too much YouTube, video games, and other teen activities. He did a few camps last summer, including his first week-long sleep away camp at Camp Highroad, and a soccer academy camp at UVA, both of which he'll be doing again this summer. He's doing great at school, earning all As (of one sort or other) and is trending green this year as well. We're proud of him as he grows into a funny and active dude. Aly had her one year anniversary at work this year. She's working at Centurion Wealth Management where they manage the wealth of, primarily, Roman soldiers? I might have gotten that part wrong. But she's been doing well, she passed her first series of licensing exams and so is now licensed to, kill? That might not be right either. She's still having fun and learning a lot, and we're proud of her and, not to brag, but I'm friends with her on LinkedIn. She's living downtown DC still in a townhouse with some other friends, and working out in Tysons, so has a sweet reverse commute. She spends a lot of time with her boyfriend, whom I'm not supposed to mention, and does come visit and stay with us pretty often, which we love. Jean usually cooks, which we all love! Speaking of which, Jean has been enjoying her time since retiring from Accenture in April. She has been more involved in the PTA and the neighborhood activities. She's been working out regularly with our neighbor, and Scoutie is grateful for many, many more walks around the streets of Red Cedar. It is personally gratifying for me to see her more relaxed and having fun doing just normal stay at home stuff for a change. Getting away from the daily grind of global sales operations is definitely something I'd recommend for anyone who can swing it. I got a new job this fall, actually starting on my birthday. My new company is Cloudability. We have a service that helps companies that use the cloud manage and optimize their costs. It's more technical than what I was doing previously and allows me to work directly with customers again, both of which have been welcome changes. I'm working 100% from home, and not working at all with the government. That might have had a little something to do with picking this new job. The people at the company are tremendously cool and smart and dedicated, and it has been a great pleasure coming up to speed on the product and the customers over the past couple of months. I've also just shaved my 3 month beard, after serving as Santa for my dad's Success Program kids, a school program for developmentally challenged teens. This was my second year as Santa, full real beard and all, and Jean is heavily lobbying for a fake beard next year! Our best vacation this year was back in the Spring when the four of us travelled to Spain around Easter. We visited friends in Madrid, then went down to Sevilla where it was easter week, with lots of processions and other candlelight activities. We were able to visit Granada, and even Morocco for the day on Easter. It was a great trip and my first time back in Spain since 1991. Everyone had a great time and we'd be happy to recommend an itinerary if others are interested, it was great. We're looking forward to a trip out to Phoenix on Christmas day this year to visit Mom and Ron and Chad and Sharon. We look forward to catching up with more of you in 2019 as we continue to try to focus on staying balanced and enjoying our friends and family as we get through this sad time. Our best to all of you, Happy New Year!